the most quotable line from the romney speech is hope is not a strategy talking about the middle east. you used the words leading from behind. mitt romney used it at least once in the speech. the speech was an attempt to say, this is what barack obama has done. here is what i would do. it was tonal more than specific. it was more we need to be bigger, more aggressive whether it's iran or another syria. it was broadly philosophically we need a stronger, more muscular approach. >> on several points he's critical on iran because he would have opposed the initial attempt to open up towards iran and thinks the president didn't go far enough at all in supporting the green revolution of students in iran in june of 2009. the response from the obama team is that the iranian leaders, the reform leaders, student revolutionaries were saying, don't be too overt. it will have a backlash effect. that can be e debated. on sanctions they are criticizing the failure to go tougher though the president arguably did better than george bush in getting russia and china to permit tougher sanctions. they are

governor romney's foreign policy speech before the g.o.p. presidential nominee took to the podium. in a statement, a spokesman for the president said and i quote, "we're not going to be lectured by someone who has been an unmitigated disaster on foreign policy every time he dipped his toe in the foreign policy waters." the statement conditions that the only person who offended europe more is probably chevy chase, part of his summer foreign tour which he criticized london's preparations for the olympic games. the president's campaign released an ad calling governor romney reckless on the international affairs. now, ed henry is in california for us this afternoon. ed, what is the story there? >>reporter: well, the bottom line, the obama campaign spokesman had a conference call reacting to governor romney's speech. he flatly said, bring it on. that was the direct quote. they feel like the president has a strong foreign policy record. they think if mitt romney wants to fight the election out on national security instead of the economy, they are willing to wage that battle. >> four years ago

the same. >> reporter: in today's speech, mitt romney also appeared to try to take away from the president's signature success overseas, as to the death of osama bin laden. he credited the military and professionals for that. >> here, traveling with the romney campaign, in virginia tonight, peter, thank you, and to the rest of our team, chief affairs correspondent andrea mitchell and our white house director, chuck todd, both in the washington bureau. chuck, let's begin with you, two new polls, different sets of numbers, what do the numbers tell you? >> reporter: look, when i dug into them, they both told us the same thing, there is a spike in the republican enthusiasm for romney, that is why you see the voters shifting towards romney. and it depends on how you wait to sample. and yes, one poll seems to be a little more republican than the gallup goal -- polls, there is more enthusiasm among likely republican voters than likely democratic voters. this has been a problem for the democrats for six months, and you're seeing more in this poll than the last debate. and the big moment

jump on romney's speech, releasing a new ad, reminding voters of the republican candidate's gaffe-plagued foreign trip over the summer. romney, obama aides say, is no ronald reagan, more like chevy chase. combatting that image, romney met with a group of retired generals after a speech. the romney approach would be both more muscular and bipartisan. >> if you look at harry truman and john kennedy and the use of power by bill clinton in his second term, that is a much different approach than jimmy carter and barack obama. >> reporter: to put his vision into action, romney will have to win first, which explains why he made an impromptu stop at a nearby elementary school. at this stage of the race, the pictures matter almost as much as the policies. romney did mention the obama campaign's trump card on foreign policy, the killing of osama bin laden, but he seemed to give the credit to what he called, quote, military and intelligence professionals. romney will now shift back to the economy with campaign events coming up here in virginia and also in iowa and ohio. wolf? >> jim acosta,

romney's foreign policy speech, the interview is the highest ranking woman in the history of the pentagon. very excited for this interview. that's straight ahead. stay with us. copd makes it hard to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. >>> okay. chart imitates life. this is what

speaking to a roundtable of retired generals after his big foreign policy speech today. mr. romney is telling the retired generals in the 2008 presidential debates, i'm quoting him directly, back in 2008 during the debates, there was no discussion of terrorism. what is he talking about? >> the war on terrorism started in afghanistan and it needs to end there had. >> my friend, some of this $700 billion ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations. >> the central front -- >> a signal from a terrorist -- >> the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. >> preventing the spread of terrorism? >> the drug trafficking funding terrorism -- >> a sponsor of terror -- >> mitt romney today after his foreign policy speech told a room full of retired admirals and generals that never happened. there was no discussion of terrorism in the 2008 presidential debates and that makes no sense at all. mitt romney today in his big foreign policy speech said that president obama has not signed any free trade agreements in the past four years. >> the president has not signed one

unrest, governor romney is set to deliver this morning what his campaign is calling a major speech on foreign policy. we have our hands on a copy of his planned remarks. governor romney saying in part, quote, i know the president hopes for a safer, freer and more prosperous middle east allied with the united states. i share this hope but hope is not a strategy. that address is set for 11:20 eastern. we'll have much more on that coming up later on this show. >> certainly will. ann romney introducing governor romney, her husband at his event yesterday. she is happy that the presidential debate gave americans a chance to see her husband for the man she knows and loves. >> one thing i appreciated more than anything else at the con veges and at the debate a chance for the american people, what chance they got to see my husband as i see him. a good and decent person. [cheers and applause] that throughout his life has exhibited his care for others, and now we're going to get a chance for him to really care for others because we're going to have the chance to see him get people back to wor

hour, alerted hrert. fox news alert. awaiting a foreign policy speech by romney. this is a brand-new hour of america's live on a monday, columbus day. how are you doing? >> i'm patti ann brown in for martha maccallum today. the governor begins in an hour. his remarks range from hopes for peace in the middle east to suspect things about the attack on 9/11 in libya. he says, the attacks on libya should not be seen as random acts. they are attacks that are playing out across the broader middle east. bill: he says i believe america does not lead others will follow. i think what that goes to is the power vacuum that is now open for moscow or beijing, or perhaps a fundamentalist group to fill that power vacuum. and all the hot spots that pop up around the world, how do you think governor romney can make that case? >> i think he can make a reasonable argument there. i've read the excerpts of the speech made available and they seem to be effective language to criticize the administration on a number of points and create a contrast, not only on things like the response in benghazi, and the at

up a conference call with reporters reacting to governor romney's speech. one staffer using erratic, irresponsible to describe the governor's remarks. >> reporter: the obama campaign spokesman saying on that conference call to mitt romney, bring it on. they think they have a strong record to talk about. think about the evolution here back in 2008 was barack obama who was facing questions about whether he had the fitness to be the commander in cleave. not just from republicans but from joe biden who said barack obama would be tested. they believe he has been tested and has passed that test. but the obama campaign spokeswoman said mitt romney is not up to th up to the test. this is the same guy who went overseas on his trip. the only person who has offended europe more is chevy chase. take a listen to how the president pitched his own foreign policy record at a campaign fundraiser in california last night. >> four years ago i told you i would end the war in iraq and we did. i said would i end the war in afghanistan, we are. [cheers and applause] >> i said we would focus on the people

romney criticizes the president in a major foreign policy speech today. delivering a tough speech on america's role on the global stage. i'm megyn kelly. even before this speech today at thev military institute the obama campaign had been hammering governor romney as an unqualified mess on foreign policy. but from the minute he took the stage he attempted to tackle a variety of issues and made clear his vision on the global foreign policy. >> our embassies why been attacked, our flag have been burned. these mobs hoisted the black banner of islamic extremism over the embassies on 9/11. as the dust settles and the murdered are buried americans have asked how this happened, how the threats we face have grown worse and what this calls america to do. these are the right questions and i have come here today to offer a perspective on these recent tragic events and share with you and all americans my vision for a freer, more prosperous and more peatful world. megyn: campaign carl cameron is on the road in virginia in the romney campaign bus? is that where you are, carl? report report head

major foreign policy speech from mitt romney scheduled to begin 20 minutes from now. we'll have it in its entirety live on "happening now." the republican candidate will be in lexington, virginia, west central virginia. at the virginia military institute. we understand he will argue it is time for a policy change in the middle east. he will touch on libya, other places in that part of the world, iran, afghanistan, all of it coming up from lexington, virginia, 20 minutes from now. we'll have it for you here on "happening now.". more on that speech in just a moment but first, brand new stories and breaking news. jenna: a deadly meningitis outbreak spreading as the number of cases and the death toll keeps going up. plus a desperate search for a little girl missing since she left for school on friday. right now the only sign of the 10-year-old? a backpack found six miles away. a final lap crash at talladega setting off a 25-car pileup. the fallout and more on "happening now." jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. hope you're off to a good monday thus far. with less than a month to go until

process of doing today. jon: erin mcpike, there at romney speech, scheduled to begin as we said about 15 minutes from now, lexington, virginia, the virginia military institute. erin, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: breaking this hour the number of confirmed cases in a widespread meningitis outbreak now topping 90. the centers for disease control also confirming nine states are affected by this deadly outbreak which now claimed seven lives. jonathan serrie live from atlanta with more on this story. >> reporter: hi, jenna. even though the medication suspected in this outbreak was recall late last month this particular form of meningitis has an incubation period that can last up to four weeks. so it is likely that we're going to see additional cases and possibly even additional deaths going late into october. want to show you a map of where the cases are right now. the cdc has confirmed a total of 91 cases in these nine states. and of those states four of them, michigan, tennessee, maryland, and virginia, are reporting a combined total of seven deaths. this rare form of meningitis is not co

listen to this romney speech on foreign policy, it is such a refreshing thing. finally somebody who talks about america's role in the world in a positive way. >> greta: and now governor romney out in front after pounding president obama in the debate. governor romney taking the lead in the polls in the latest pew polls governor romney leading president obama 49% to 45%. now last month he trailed by eight points. so can governor romney keep the momentum going or is he just on a political roller coaster? former senator fred thompson joins us. good evening, sir. >> good evening. >> greta: the republicans are dancing right now, but i wouldn't measure the drapes yet. >> no, no. still got a lot of campaign to go. but i think that for the first time people got a chance to see mitt romney and a little closer look at barack obama. you know, he hasn't been in that setting in a long time. i wasn't really surprised either case. nobody's ever accused romney of -- i mean obama of being a great debater. his only eloquence is off the teleprompter, in which he's very good at delivering a set piece,

mitt romney made his speech on foreign policy, they had a couple of ads ready to go and then put together a conference call with campaign officials and also madeleine albright, former secretary of state and they are saying he's erratic, unsteady, irresponsible, something the campaign was not as quick to do in the past but post-debate, a much more aggressive tone from the campaign. >> jim, you have been following governor romney for a long time. have you seen a marked -- you talk about a smile he has on the campaign trail. have you seen a big difference in how he's been campaigning since the debate? >> absolutely. you know, one thing that we should touch on is in that pew research center poll, it shows an 18 point swing to mitt romney among women voters, and i think that may vindicate some of what people were observing at that debate last week, when a lot of people thought mitt romney was sort of moving to the middle in certain areas on bank regulation, on at least trying to do so on health care reform and on taxes, even though the obama campaign was accusing him of etch-a-sketchi

energize the base. that is why you saw mitt romney give that very muscular speech today over at virginia military institute talking about the potential for war in the middle east if events continue the way that they are going right now. that was pretty tough talk coming from mitt romney in that speech earlier today. >> jim acosta, appreciate it. dan lothian, thank you very much. >>> let's talk about what the polls could be telling us. ari fleischer joins us, a part-time unpaid communications adviser to the romney campaign. also obama 2012 pollster, cornell belcher and david gergen, senior political analyst. cornell, this is the first poll taken entirely after the debate although it's just one poll, certainly not a good indicator for president obama or his campaign. what do you make of it? >> well, look, i think we always said this is going to be a tight race, and it's going to continue to be a tight race. there's other polls out there, the political battleground poll came out today showed the president slightly ahead. reuters poll came out friday that showed the president slightly ahead.

the world. i mean, the speech today by mitt romney about foreign policy was a joke. it has been already panned by so many who actually know what they're talking about. this is the same guy who couldn't even go to the olympics in london and do that right insulting our good friends and our great partner in the uk. so let's talk about the substance of what it takes to run the united states of america, the most powerful country in the world, and not about, you know, style points at a debate. this is a real job here, and you have to be focused and know what in the world you're doing. >> so your criticizing us for criticizing the campaign debate? okay. let's move on. >> i think the american public wants to hear about the candidates. >> i agree with your main point. let's go back, the obama campaign released this ad over the weekend going after romney's plan on taxes. let's watch the campaign ad that was put out. >> this was dishonest. >> i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. >> romney is being dishonest here, too. >> i a cording to an independent nonport stan study, barack obama

suggestions. >> i would have governor romney include in his speech a list of questions for the president, saying, asking questions that we're not getting answers to from anybody else in the administration, with respect to what happened in benghazi, what happened in libya. these are questions if he asks them directly, will force them into the mainstream media discussion and the president will have no other alternative, but to answer them. >> i think you should have won. lastly, quickly, what's the most significant moment in the presidential race so far? it should be pretty easy, i think, steve? >> i would actually say the debate. i know we're only a couple of days from it, but you had a narrative that was really running mitt romney off to the sidelines and the fact that he did as well as he did in the debate, i think, took that narrative away and made it, now, a contest at least in the minds of the media again. >> and i think it was the debate, too. but the november 9th, 2011 republican primary debate at which rick perry could not remember the name of the third department he want today el

foreign policy speech that mitt romney gave yesterday. madeleine albright did not have much of anything to say -- plenty to say about it but didn't grade it to be a-level work let's hear what she had to say on a conference call yesterday -- i think we have that. >> probably a speech that to those that are not totally into foreign policy sounds pretty good, but i think it is really full of platitudes and free of substance. some of the facts, though, are just dead wrong. >> so, madeleine albright not exactly saying this was the greatest foreign policy speech ever. do you think voters -- what did you make of it and do you think voters are paying attention to foreign policy? >> i think they're starting to. i think they're going to certainly in the next -- the next debate at the end of the month. i think that it was -- lacking in nuance and that's a real problem because the world is very nuanced. we've moved from a kind of simplistic u.s. is the sort of soul super power world, incredibly multi polar, just in the middle east, and i think you've seen romney already drop the ball there. there i

romney. in his speech last night, president obama criticized mitt romney's plan. >> the centerpiece of mitt romney's plan is a $5 trillion tax cut skewed toward the wealthy. he's been pitching this plan for almost two years now. >> boo! >> no, no. don't boo. vote! >> reporter: there were protesters as well. people protesting the crackdown on medical marijuana. there were anti-war protesters an romney supporters as well were gathered -- and romney support as well were gathered. you are looking at some highway patrol officers who just arrived here about five minutes ago. it looks like they are preparing possibly for the presidential motorcade that will probably happen here sometime in the next couple of hours. the streets are closed to vehicle traffic. you can see pedestrians are getting through here just fine. we've seen some intercontinental employees actually having to go to the police and show them their work i.d.s just so they can get through. it is pretty high security. now the, the president will -- now, the president will leave here and head to ohio where he will address the crow

romney's speeches, he does talk about those things, but we're trying to reinforce that out among the grass roots, full. >> rick santorum, good luck with the book. >> thank you. >> senator, thanks as always. >> here's savannah. >>> stephanie cutter is president obama's campaign manager. stephanie, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the debate. you just heard rick santorum talk about the president's strengths as a debater. this is something that american voters seem to agree with. most polls show they expect the president to prevail tonight by a large margin. does the president have a very high bar to pass tonight in the view of american voters? >> well, i think the test for both candidates tonight is who is going to lay out a vision and a detailed specific vision of how we're going to move this country forward. i think the candidate that does that will win that test. american people sitting at home in their living rooms are looking for details, and i think you'll see president obama continue to do that. he's been having that conversation with them for some time.

romney speech full of platitude and free of substance. >> i'm sure the former secretary of state would say that. the reality is that it set out a very strong approach for america being a leader. it talked about america being more assertive. it gave three or four differences. too far in the other direction, they would say, well, governor romney was undercutting the commander in chief. >> said he didn't want to come across to be compared with president bush, former president bush. >> he isn't president bush and he isn't president obama. it's a different approach. is it totally different on every respect? no. president obama hasn't been a failure in every respect. certain things he did in his foreign policy that i respect very much. >> when you saw the numbers you were surprised. is there something going on in the romney campaign other than this debate in which they decided to attack to the center, decided to be more moderate? >> the debate was enormously important for governor romney. it sounds strange to say this. he has been around for such a long time but it was his introduction to th

the video as a bombshell labelling it obama's other race speech. the video's publication widely seen as an effort to counter the damage inflicted on romney's candidacy by his hidden video comments about the 47%. in the video released yesterday, then candidate obama was critical of the government's response to hurricane katrina. >> when hurricane andrew struck in florida, people said, look at this devastation. we don't expect you to come up with the money. here's the money to rebuild. we're not going to wait for you to scratch it together because you're part of the american family. what's happening down in new orleans? where's your dollar in where's your staff for that money? makes no sense. tells me the bullet hasn't been taken out. [ applause ] tells me that somehow the people down in new orleans, they don't care about as much. >> now, a portion of this speech had been covered by several news organizations, including msnbc. during the 2008 presidential campaign but yesterday, the speech in its entirety was made available and posted at the daily caller. it included comments mr. obama

speech. mitt romney will give a major foreign-policy speech today in virginia at the virginia military institute in lexington. president obama will make four california. newschannel 8 will have an in- depth repay that all the political news in just a couple of minutes. check on the commute this morning even though it is a holiday. it is very light volume on the roads right now. with the holiday, it to be laid restrictions are lifted. metro is operating on saturday schedule. on 66ip in from manassas clear and prince william southbound at sublease manner as an accident and toward the beltway, free and clear on this monday morning. out there this morning. temperatures are warming into to mid 40's now. couple of showers late today tomorrowht and milder andd hit 71.y we will >> are back again at 8:56. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. "i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. that's not my plan." mitchell: "the nonpartisan tax policy center concluded that mitt romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over 10 years." vo: why won't romney level with us about his tax p

infamous 47% remarks he now says he was wrong. sean hannity asked romney. what would he have said if president obama had raised the 47% remarks in the debate the other night? here is romney's answer. >> clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. in this case i said something that is just completely wrong. and i absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that i care about 100%. >> president obama didn't bring up the 47% remarks in the debate and caught a lot of flack for it. i question it here on this network to one of his advisers. but he probably wanted to avoid giving romney the chance to address it in front of 67 million people, that kind of platform. the romney camp wasn't satisfied. they were probably expecting it to give their candidate an opportunity. okay. so they're not happy with the good debate performance and wanted a bite at the 47% apple to straighten things out. they sent romney over to fox news so romney can finally say he was wrong o

benghazi on a movie. romney has some strong words at a speech later this morning here in lexington. and implying some of the president's decisions were made for political reasons. in a major speech on foreign policy romney will attack mr. obama's leadership and set out his strategy, promising i'll affirm that my duty is not to my political prospects but to the security of the nation. romney will challenge the president's handling of the middle east saying it's time to change course. i know the president hopes for a safer, freer and more prosperous middle east allied with the united states. i share that hope. but hope is not a strategy. >> we'll win in florida. >> reporter: this speech comes after a weekend of campaigning in the battleground state of florida. romney a private man began showing a compassionate side telling personal stories about helping others including a 14-year-old boy from his congregation who was dying from leukemia. >> he said i want you to write a will for me. i got a legal pad and he described the things he wanted to giveaway. his skateboard, his fishing rod and ri

big job interview. what does governor romney have to do to be hired? the world's most famous boss, donald trump is here. in 90 second, have you seen part of president obama's speech. what do you think of that controversial speech? we will give you another look. then we want to hear from you. it is just 90 seconds away. are you ready ? share everything by turning your smartphone into a mobile hotspot for up to 8 wifi-enabled devices at no extra charge. like the new droid razr m by motorola only $99.99. >> greta: president obama goes off script and now he is taking lots of heat. now you have seen it, candidate obama in 2007, in a passionate speech to the audience, with reverend jeremiah wright. then he veers from the prepared remarks, comparing hurricane katrina to other national tragedies and then says that the federal government doesn't care as much about the hurricane victims in new orleans. >> what is happening down in new orleans? where's your dollar? where is your stafford act mony? makes no sense. tells me the bullet hasn't been taken out. tells me that somehow the people dow

tomorrow's speech -- in tomorrow's debate, i should say, and speeches throughout the next 35 days from -- >> absolutely. >> -- both the president and vice president? >> absolutely. and they should. as your other guest said, this was a window into governor romney's basic core of beliefs, into his political soul. same thing with paul ryan. they can try to make it up and say, i'm going to care about all americans and i gave them all health care in massachusetts. but that's campaign rhetoric. the american people understand when they hear politicians talking on the campaign trial. but this was a window into their soul. and what was so shocking about governor romney was that he's totally wrong. that 47% is about 70 million americans. 42 million of them, rev, earn less than $19,000. they work, many of them two, three-part-time jobs. they make less than $19,000 in a desperate attempt to feed their family. you tell me someone with three jobs isn't willing to take personal responsibility, wants entitlements? they work like dogs and they're not making money. it's an insult to hard working am

that. governor mitt romney delivering what his campaign called a major foreign policy speech in virginia. during that address he suggested that the president's leadership style has made the middle east more dangerous. >> the president is fond of saying that the tide of war is receding and i want to believe him as much as anyone else. but when we look at the middle east today, with iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability, with the conflict in syria threatening to destablize the reemg on. and with violent extremists on the march, and with an american ambassador and three others dead likely at the hands of al qaeda affiliates. it is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office. bill: there was a lot more in the speech. want to talk about it with former new york city mayor, rudy giuliani and a romney supporter. how are you, mr. mayor. >> i'm fine, bill. bill: what you think voters and viewers more importantly at the moment for the next two debates a clear distinction what governor romney's policies would be as commander-

in the speech. want to talk about it with former new york city mayor, rudy giuliani and a romney supporter. how are you, mr. mayor. >> i'm fine, bill. bill: what you think voters and viewers more importantly at the moment for the next two debates a clear distinction what governor romney's policies would be as commander-in-chief and as opposed to what the current policies are today. whether it's that speech yesterday or whether determined in debate number two or number three, how does he draw that clear distinction? >> the distinction is very clear. it is a difference in approach and a lot of specifics. president obama leads from behind. that's one of his people described it that way last year about libya and it is really, very, very dangerous. he put us in a very dangerous position by doing that. governor romney would lead by leading, by setting forth what we'll do. by laying it out. asking other countries to follow us rather than we follow other countries like we followed france into libya. i think we're seeing the fruits of president obama's incompetence in foreign policy right

handled israel, poland and london. >> reporter: one of romney's advisers says his speech in about an hour will be a stark contrast of that ad. reporting in washington, jacqueline fell, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> right now, the vice presidential candidates are preparing for their debate that's happen on thursday in danville, kentucky. political observers say -- >> i am sure that vice president biden got a phone call from the white house and said, you know, look, we -- you know, we didn't go after governor romney as much and so you have gotta turn up the heat. >> i think both men will be very prepared. >> analysts say there's pressure on ryan to show that he's potential presidential material in his first national debate. >>> early voting begins in california today. if you want to avoid early, head to our county office. most offices will be closed today because of columbus day. ballots will be mailed tomorrow from the post office. >>> hugo chavez has been re- elected after his closest race yet. he won re-election with 54% of the vote. his dhaller -- his challenger took 45% of the vote. chavez